There is a Latin saying that goes “Parvis e glandibus quercus.” That translates to “Tall oaks from little acorns grow.” Why do I bring this up you ask? Well believe it or not, the New York Yankees-Major League Baseball’s tallest oak-was once a little acorn.
In fact, they first took root in Baltimore, where they were the original Orioles. In January of 1903, businessmen Frank Farrell and Bill Devery purchased the team. The purchase price? $18,000. They also moved into a new park called Hilltop Park because it was located in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan. They also adopted a new name. At the suggestion of team president Joseph Gordon, they were dubbed the Highlanders.
This was for two reasons; the location of the park (now the home of Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center), and because there was a British regiment touring the country whose commander was named Gordon. This did not go over well with the many Irish Catholic fans who despised the British. So they were called among other things the Hilltoppers, Americans, and Invaders.
The inception of the New York Yankees:
The press started calling them Yankees or Yanks because it was easier to print. They would officially become the Yankees in 1913. That year also saw the team leave Hilltop Park to move into the Polo Grounds, home of the Giants. In January of 1915, the team was sold to Jacob Ruppert and T.L. Huston for $460,000, more than 25 times what Farrell and Devery paid. Under Ruppert and Huston, the team started to play better baseball, as they won no pennants under the previous owners. Then they made the move that would change the course of baseball history: purchasing Babe Ruth from the Boston Red Sox.
Finally the Yankees would win the first of their 40 pennants in 1921. Ruth’s drawing power caused them to outdraw their landlord, the Giants. In retaliation, the Giants kicked them out. After an extensive search, the Yankees bought a parcel of land in the Bronx. It was right across the Harlem River from the Polo Grounds.
On April 18, 1923, Yankee Stadium opened. The Yankees would cap off the year by winning the first of their 27 World Series titles, defeating the Giants, the team the Yankees lost to in both the 1921 and 1922 World Series.
From humble beginnings, the New York Yankees would set the standard against which other teams are measured. They were one acorn that certainly became a mighty tall oak.